Truth of the Blue Feather
by Inner Dragon2007
Summary: The Follow-up of 'Fully Matured'. Just before the New Year Festival, Ann loses the Blue Feather that Rei had given her. And Rei asked her to give it to him if she doesn't feel ready! How is she going to tell him?


Well here's the follw-up one-shot I was tinking about writing. If you guys don't know why this is a follow-up, click Inner Dragon and the other Harvest Moon story 'Fully Matured'. If you do know, then go on ahead. But I would like to thank the only person who had reviewed that story. So thank you Fille de Myosotis! As for the rest, thank for at least looking at it! Now enjoy the story

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**The Truth of the Blue Feather**

Ann groaned as she fell lightly on the grass, letting out a big sigh of relief. She kept her eyes closed as she began to relax after a long, hard day of farming. "I know it's the New Year's Festival tonight. But that doesn't mean you have to work us till we drop, Dad; I can barely feel my arms anymore." Ann paused a moment and groaned again; she REALLY didn't want to think about the festival at the moment. It just kept reminding her of Rei and the blue feather he had given her on Starry Night. But in spite of herself, Ann smiled as she felt a blush creep up on her cheeks; even though she and Rei finally fully opened up to each other, she couldn't help it. While Ann was very out-going and spunky compared to most of the girls, she couldn't help but be a little shy around Rei sometimes. Sure, they had been friends since they were kids, though she only figured this out when he told her on Starry Night, but Rei was still his same old self. Playful, easy-going, and, above all, constantly teasing her nonstop. It had already been a few weeks since they had been hanging around with each other more often than usual. Ann said it was just to catch up on things. But Karen rolled her eyes, the girls smiled mischievously, the boys made kissing sound, and some of the women in the village kept 'awwing' and saying stuff about 'childhood love'. Even her Dad would just smile laughingly, as if he knew something else. Gray was more teasing; he would smirk a little and say to her with all the sarcasm in his heart, "You keep telling yourself that." Even when she took her bro's advice, she could practically hear her laughing at herself and say the same thing as Gray. "_Darn Rei! Why do you do this to me," _Ann thought angrily to herself as she felt herself drift off into a nap.

**5 minutes later**

That's when she felt something lightly brushing her lips. Ann, thinking it was a piece of grass, blew on it to get it off her face. An almost silent chuckle came from this action and again it was quiet. But after a while, she felt something press softly yet firmly against her lips; it was really warm actually, like a living thing. Ann's eyes shoot open and she found herself looking at Rei, whose lips were resting lightly on hers. His eyes were half open, watching her intently as he continued to kiss her. Right at that realization of what was happening, Ann's face began to turn redder and redder by the second. Rei smiled slightly in the kiss and slowly separated, staying a few inches close to lips still. "Hey, Ann-chan; you're pretty cute when you blush," Rei said softly as he looked into her sky blue eyes.

Ann was too much in a daze to answer him; she just stared back at his blue eyes, which seemed to captivate her every single time. It just seemed to amaze her how Rei's eyes always looked as if it was a deeper blue; kind of like sapphires, in a way. Rei cocked an eyebrow wonderingly; this seemed to happen a lot nowadays, but it never failed to humor him. "Wake uuupppp," He murmured impishly and he lightly nipped her on the ear.

Ann jumped up in surprise and, from some kind of miracle, managed to be as red as a well grown tomato. "W-What was that for Rei," She yelped in surprise. It wasn't that he nipped her hard; it was just really sudden.

Rei laughed light-heartedly, his soft, carefree voice filled with good-natured humor. "If you keep dazing off like that, I just might have to stop." Ann opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn't a way to object. So she just crossed her arms, turned her face away from him, and began to pout. Rei rolled his eyes playfully; he knew she was going to do that. He crawled toward her and childishly hugged her from behind; he chuckled lowly as he felt her face heat up again. "C'mon, don't be like that; it was just a joke." Ann peeked to the side to look at the smiling Rei. "I just haven't seen you in a while. It's been a week already." Ann was silent for a while; it really had been a while since she had come here to visit Rei. She sighed peacefully as she laid her head on his chest; seeing this as an invitation, Rei rested his chin on Ann's head. She smiled happily and cuddled closer to him; Ann actually didn't mind spending time with the farmer. It was just that she had so much work to do at the moment…or was it something else? "Hey Ann," Rei cut through her thoughts "does the lack of visits have something to do with the Blue Feather?"

Ann was surprised and a little scared; did he know. "Um, well, Rei, you see-"

"Calm down Ann; I understand." Rei smiled at a now confused Ann. "I guess it was a little too soon to ask you all of a sudden." Rei got up and held his hand out to her, which she took gratefully. "How 'bout this; you can give me the Blue feather back at the New Years festival tonight. I don't mind; I can wait later to give it to you anyway."

Ann was even more terrified than before. "But Rei-"

"Ann, c'mon; Dad wants us back at the farm!" Ann turned to see Gray calling her from the entrance of the farm. She looked at Rei, who just smiled and waved to her goodbye. So Ann went off, though Rei noticed she seemed a little…well, non-Annish. He chuckled to himself and looked toward the sky once again. "I wonder when she'll be ready," He mused absentmindedly to himself as he went back to watering the crops…

**At the Inn**

"Ann, you seriously have to tell him. What's the worst he will do; besides yell and call off the engagement," Karen told Ann a little jokingly. Ann didn't find that the least bit funny; it made her even more terrified than before. "Okay, maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. But do you really think he's going to get angry at you? I actually think the worst that can really happen is he laughs at you and calls you a clusts."

Ann just groaned; just remembering that week was enough to dampen her mood.

**Flashback**

_Ann was going back to the farm the moment she was done visiting Rei that for the week. The festival was going to be coming soon; most likely, it was going to be harder to visit him because of farm work. Maybe he would visit her instead. Ann thought about it for a moment and just shook her head; Rei worked alone on Snowy Night farm and had a bunch of stuff he had to do on his own. A visit from him would be a once in a harvest moon occasion. __"Not that I can blame him; I have Dad and Gray to help me. He has to do all the work on his own. Maybe if we get married…"__ Ann trailed off and blushed a little at the thought. It did make sense; they both were farmers so if Rei did marry her, she could help out. Until she had to take care of the baby-. __"Okay, now you're REALLY getting ahead of yourself, Ann,"__ she scolded herself as her face held a silly, happy grin._

"_Yo Ann, what's wrong with you; you've been staring into space like a girl in a romantic daydream."_

_A huge anger vein appeared as Ann turned to Gray, who was taking care of Cliffguard. "Sorry, if it's so hard for you to believe, Gray, BUT I AM A GIRL!"_

_Gray looked at her nonchalantly and went back to brushing Cliffguard's fur. "Well, this is news to me; I thought I ended up having a little brother." He called to Ann as she began to go into the house. "And what did I tell you about leaving your window open? The Blue Feather gonna end up flying away; it's been windy these past few days." Ann ignored him and just began to walk past her Dad, into her room. Sure enough, the blue feather was still on her desk; just as she left it. "Hah, told you it wouldn't go off Bro," Ann told herself proudly. Right as she thought this, a strong gust of wind blew through her window. Before she could grab it, the Blue Feather began to fly away on the winds current. Meanwhile, Gray was watching Ann the whole time. He felt like saying 'I told you so', but he wasn't THAT cold hearted…_

**End of Flashback**

"Oh, what am I gonna tell Rei," Ann groaned again. By the time she finished rethinking about what happened, some of the girls, along with a few boys, were also on the table.

"How 'bout the truth; you were careless and let the feather get blown away," Kai suggested cheerfully. That resulted to a whack across the head from Karen.

"You know, Kai actually has a point; you should just tell him. I'm sure he'll understand," Mary told Ann reassuringly.

A thoughtful Cliff, the cousin of Karen, smiled a little at Ann. He had actually liked Ann when he had come to Mineral Town and saw Rei as a rival. But with a guy like Rei, you can't stay bitter toward him and the two became good friends. Cliff had actually confessed for Ann but she rejected him kindly. They still were friends though. "You should really tell Rei. I know the guy; he won't be that angry."

Ann looked at all her friends, who were encouraging her forward and finally smiled. "Okay…I'll tell him tonight…."

**Fast-forward to the New Year Festival**

"What's up Ann? Why'd you bring me to the Harvest Goddess Spring?"

Ann knelt down to the spring and dropped a flower as an offering to the Goddess, Rei watching her every move. _"I know I don't really pray, but PLEASE give me strength, Goddess." _Ann turned back to Rei and walked toward him, fidgeting with her fingers. She couldn't bring herself to look at Rei's smiling face. "W-Well, you see…It's about the Blue Feather-"

"You mean how you lost it?" Rei smiled when he saw her horrified face. "Don't worry; no one told me. I just found it somewhere special." He smiled even wider than before when Ann cocked her head to the side like a lost puppy. "Follow me." Rei walked toward the tree they used to hang around and began to climb it. Ann just stood there dumbfounded for a moment, but quickly snapped out of it when Rei had called her over. She climbed up the tree behind him until she reached the branch he was sitting on. "C'mon, look in the nest," Rei instructed laughingly. Ann obeyed and peeked in the old nest.

She was surprised to see the one and only Blue Feather inside. "H-How did you find it," Ann asked as she reached out to grab it.

But Rei's hand stopped her. "Now, let's not be so hasty." He took the delicate feather in his hand and began to climb down; Ann followed right behind him. "I want you to tell me everything that happened. I'm curious about why the Blue Feather wasn't in your house," He asked. Ann sighed; looks like Cliff was right. Rei wasn't angry. But he still wanted an explanation; she didn't know which scene she had imagined was worse. Rei sensed her hesitation; he walked toward her and hugged her childishly from behind. "I just want to get the details straight," He told her soothingly. Ann sighed; she knew she wasn't gonna get out of this. She sat herself between Rei, who followed suit, and began her story all over again…

**A few seconds later**

"Oh god Ann! I can't breathe anymore," Rei managed to say as he continued to roll on the ground, laughing his butt off at a now red faced Ann.

"I owe Karen 50g now," Ann grumbled embarrassedly, remembering the bet she made with her about Rei's reaction. Why did Karen always have to be good at bets?

Rei laughed for a few more seconds and finally stopped; he wiped away a few tears while he was at it. "Ann, did you honestly think I was gonna yell at you? I would've just laughed at you for being a clusts," He commented.

Ann grumbled and crossed her arms. "Why do you have to sound a lot like Karen," She pouted. She attempted to go back to the festival, only to have Rei pull her back on his lap. She tried to squirm free but failed miserably; Rei, although childish, had more strength than her sometimes.

"Maybe you should listen to us more."

Ann felt Rei nuzzle his face in the crook of her neck, his warm breath slightly tickled her skin. He said something but Ann couldn't really hear it. "What did you say Rei?"

"I said you can have the Feather back if you want." Rei took his face away from her neck and place the Feather in her hair. "There; now you're an Indian, Ann-chan!"

Ann sighed in spite of the smile that was coming. "Rei, you need to at least a bit more romantic." She liked the fact they were able to be a bit comfortable with each other. But he still treated her like a little kid.

There was silence…"So you want me to be more romantic? Doesn't sound too hard."

Ann was going to ask what Rei meant by that, but then she felt herself being placed on the grass. Her eyes shot open as she saw Rei hovering over her body; there was a grin on his face she had never seen before. "R-Rei what are you-" Ann wasn't able to finish because Rei claimed her lips in a soft kiss. Ann's face redden even more; this wasn't like the usual kisses she received. It felt even more loving, passionate, and it felt really good. Ann instinctively, yet shyly, draped her arms over Rei's shoulder. Rei smiled into the kiss and pressed his lips a little harder, still managing to make it soft and innocent. After a few seconds he separated his lips from Ann's and lightly kissed up and down her neck, making Ann shiver. Rei once again smiled against the skin of her neck and sat down, much to Ann's slight displeasure. "Why did you stop," She couldn't help but ask him.

Rei smiled slightly when she had asked this. "Because I don't want to go any farther from that right now." He smirked as he continued. "Besides, you looked like you were getting a little too excited; I don't want to spoil you too much."

Ann was stunned for a moment but in the end laughed. So that's why he didn't do this that often! She went back to Rei and sat in between his legs, resting her head against his warm chest while his arms wrapped around her in a protective manner. They both knew the New Year fireworks were going to start soon, but they decided to watch it alone with each other. But Rei could sense Ann was getting tired. He looked at Ann and asked her one more time. "So, do you want to go through with the engagement or you want to wait another year?"

Ann lifted her head and looked into his soft blue eyes with her own. She gave him a tired smile and answered it with one last soft kiss. Rei smiled at this action and took it as a yes. She snuggled against him some more and murmured "Yes; let's go through," before she fell asleep. Rei's eyes softened at the sight of her and kissed the top of her head.

"You little liar."

Rei looked up to see the Harvest Goddess looking at him a little disapprovingly, but with a smile lingering on her face. He was one of the only people who could truly see the Goddess of the Spring because he was a Harvest. And members of the Harvest family were naturally born with ability; Rei was no different. He gave her an innocent smile but didn't say anything.

The Harvest Goddess shook her head. "Honestly, why didn't you just tell her what really happened? It sure didn't go into the nest; I made sure the wind took it to YOU…"

**Flashback**

_Rei smiled a bit as he continued to brush his cows as Kenji, his large floppy eared ginger dog, made sure that none of the wild dogs. Not that they came out in the morning; but Kenji never took his chances. Rei didn't mind that; after all, this was just like any other day on his farm. That was, until something blue flew right in his face, making him lose balance out of startlement. "What The-" Rei began until he took the thing out of his face. His eyes widened once he realized what it was. "What's the Blue Feather doing here," He asked himself out loud, scratching his hair from under his cap. Rei looked at the feather to the path that led to Ann's house. Then he shrugged and walked on his way to the Harvest Spring. Once he came, he dropped a flower in the Spring to call the Goddess._

_As usual, she came out; the sight of the feather was enough to tell her what he wanted t know. "Um, let's just say something happened and Ann ended up letting it get carried by the wind." She stopped for a moment and looked a little surprised when she saw Rei climb his childhood tree and place the feather in the old bird nest. Rei Harvest, what are you-" But Rei quickly ran off before the Harvest Goddess could say anything else…_

**End of Flashback**

Rei smiled ever so slightly at that very memory. "Don't worry I'll tell her after the wedding." The Harvest Goddess looked at him a little uncertainly for a moment, but in the end disappeared with a sigh. Rei sure knew how to calm a person down, no matter what he did. Rei looked up to the sky one last time as the fireworks began to start. But he too soon fell asleep, holding Ann even closer than ever to himself. He knew there was nothing to worry about now; the truth of the Blue Feather was to bring happiness. Well, Ann was with him; that was all the happiness he needed.

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**Well, that's it for now. Wow, I think I'm beginning to get attached to Rei. In fact, I even thinking about doing another follow-up oneshot, this time it's when they have their BABY! Ohhhh, that would be interesting. But I could use some thought on whether I should or not. Hope you enjoyed!**


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